Large leaf quilt - Slow stitching

I fnished another quilt (46" x 72")!!  It took the better part of a full day but it is done!!  Two more to go before I can move on to a new project.  I used a soft green for the backing as well as the binding for this one and added a flannel batting.  I did have to redo a few things along the way but eventually the binding went together very well and I am very pleased with how it worked out.  I used solid strips in between the pieces strips which worked really well when I was piecing the top.  Much less streching than if the strips are all pieced.  The large slow stitched leaves really stand out again the blue background.  I am really enjoying making quilts that incorporate my slow stitching.  It makes very unique quilts with a personal touch.  It was nice to have coordinating fabric scraps to put together for this top.  I have committed to finishing the quilt tops I have finished before starting a new project.  I am still slow stitching cat squares.  I have a LOT of them and I just recently trimmed black squares for all of them and stitched cats down which now leaves only the slow stitching to finish them.  I expect there will be a few quilts that will incorporate the cats in various manners.  Therese 

Exchange cards featuring stamped leaves with a watercolour wash and a leather leaf diecut

 I made these two large cards for my Card Exchange partners for this month.  I started by making brown cards that fit in the large envelopes from my stash.  I took two pieces of white cardstock and stamped the leaves on in brown permanent ink which I then watercoloured with yellow and two different oranges.  Once they were dry, I cut the outside edges with my Deckle decorative scissors and added brown watercolour to the edge to give them a defined edge.  I added a little strip of gold embossed mesh and the leather leaf die cuts with double sided tape and then tied copper cording to the stems of the leaves.  I used my wood burning iron to add definition to them which works really well.  Next, I used my Crop a dile to add three copper eyelets to each one changing the orientation for the second one.  I found some orange decorative paper in my stash and cut out two backgrounds from one sheet of 12 x 12.  The colour was a bit cool so I simply watercoloured a very light yellow watercolour wash over them to help the coordinate with my focal element.  Once they were dry I added copper ribbon to each of the backgrounds before adhering them to my card fronts.  One is horizontal with a short fold over piece accented with a copper brad and the other is vertical on the left had side.  I added my large focal elements using 3D foam tape.  I would have preferred the leaves had a bit more definition - darker ink or embossing would have been more effective.  They are off to my partners next week!!  Therese